Liver cancer: can be cured if detected early

Liver cancer is the main cause of death worldwide with over 600,000 deaths a year. In Asia, where the incidence of hepatitis B is high, liver cancer is particularly common. We can detect liver cancer early and treat it promptly through routine screening and diagnosis.

Factors that can lead to primary liver cancer including hepatitis B, alcohol consumption, fatty liver and hepatitis C . In Bangladesh, hepatitis B and fatty liver are common causes of liver cancer. most with about 6% of the total population with chronic hepatitis B, 20% have fatty liver.

Symptom

The liver is an organ with a great reserve capacity. We can work well even if we lose 60-70% of our liver volume. Therefore, in patients with small liver cancer, the disease will not affect liver function and cause no pain. Medicine can treat small liver cancer, but they have almost no symptoms, making it difficult to detect in time.

Because primary liver cancer develops in patients with hepatitis B, C, fatty liver and often drinking alcohol, doctors recommend that people should have a 6-month / 1-time check-up to test for liver cancer. .

When liver cancer is larger, it damages liver function and the patient begins to lose weight, jaundice, pain in the upper right abdomen. At this stage it is still curable but if the tumor continues to grow, it can spread and cannot be cured.

Liver CT scan shows right lobe liver cancer (white arrow).

Check and diagnose

We can detect liver cancer early and treat it promptly through routine screening and diagnosis. The tests are divided into 3 categories:

Liver biopsy : This is the most accurate method to diagnose liver cancer but is limited to use because it is painful and has a 5% chance of spreading the tumor along the biopsy.

Blood test : Patients infected with hepatitis B virus or other liver diseases should check the alpha fetoprotein every 6 months to detect cancer early.

Imaging diagnosis : Can diagnose and detect liver cancer by imaging such as ultrasound (USG); 3-phase CT scan; Magnetic resonance imaging with contrast material (MRI) and PET-CT scan . At Liver Cancer Center at Gleneagles Hospital, belonging to Parkway Medical Group (Singapore), these methods are applied. effective to detect liver cancer at the earliest.

Liver cancer can be cured if detected early

Liver cancer can be cured if detected by two methods of liver transplantation or surgical removal.

Removal surgery: This surgery is to remove the cancer from the liver. Cancer is localized in one part of the liver and the rest can remain healthy.

Liver transplantation : If liver cancer is present in both liver or liver lobes without cancer, it is not possible to remove the surgery but to use a liver transplant method, which means removal of the entire liver and replaced with half a liver from a healthy donor. Liver transplantation is the best treatment for liver cancer when the cancer has not spread outside. In the Liver Cancer Center at Gleneagles Hospital, 85% of liver transplant patients are expected to live more than 5 years.

The PET-CT scan shows the existence of the remaining cancer cell (orange area).

Choose a temporary treatment

Temporary treatment of liver cancer can control tumor growth, but often cancer cannot be eradicated and is unlikely to prolong life over 5 years.

Hepatic arterial occlusion chemotherapy (TACE) : Chemotherapy is injected directly into cancer tumors through a hollow tube placed in the blood vessel of a liver cancer tumor and clots the blood vessels to the liver. With this method, the patient may have pain and fever because part of the healthy liver around the cancer area will also be hurt. Besides, tumors of more than 3 cm are not capable of being completely destroyed.

During the TACE process, a hollow tube (black arrow) is placed into the bloodstream to the liver.Cancer is confirmed and chemotherapy is injected directly into the cancer tumor.

Removal of radiofrequency cancer cells (RFA) : The RFA process aims to burn cancer cells through a metal tube directly into the tumor, but this treatment also has disadvantages such as TACE method.

Oral medications : Sorafenib (Nexavar®, Bayer Pharmaceutics) are the latest chemotherapy chemicals approved by the US FDA. It is an effective oral medication that prolongs life and improves quality of life.

For patients who cannot remove cancer tumors or metastatic cancer patients, Nexavar® is the best choice. However, even with this new drug, half of the patients die within 1 year and are unable to live for more than 2 years. Besides, this drug is very expensive, about 5000-7000 USD per month.

When treating liver cancer, many factors need to be considered such as: age, health status of patients, degree of disease and spread of cancer .

However, the most important is still the experience and skills of the doctors. All treatments depend on the practitioner and the doctor in charge must decide on the best treatment for each patient. It is also the application of doctors at the Liver Cancer Center at Gleneagles Hospital.

The Asian Liver Disease and Liver Disease Center, Gleneagles Hospital, Singapore is the first private health center in Asia to specialize in the treatment of all types of liver diseases - from children to adults.

The center provides a diverse and intensive medical service with existing facilities and equipment. All are set up in only one medical organization that provides comprehensive and ongoing health care for both children and adults with liver disease.

The center consists of 2 main units: Liver Enhancement Care Unit and Liver Transplant Program.Both complement each other to respond professionally to the need for surgery and medical care for all types of liver diseases effectively.